Day 3 Walking Amalfi 30/10/18 - Ferriere

The day started with us trying to dry our shoes in preparation for walking - having soaked them last night on the way home from the bus. Thank heavens for hair dryers in the room.  We achieved something closer to dryness before it was time for breakfast.

Breakfast was again a choice of cereal, cold meat and cheese and sweet treats, and the place we are staying again made us up rolls to take along with us.

We climbed up from our accommodation today, heading up steeply through the top of the local village via an old limestone stairway, and into the woods.  Here there were lots of small trees which were chestnuts and also some other kinds of tree with a catkin and red berries.  The pathway was steep at times, but not too difficult to handle .  Would have been much easier if our legs were not so sore from two days of climbing up and down.

view from our door

We were treated to many beautiful views today as we looked out over the amazing rugged landscape with the small homes nestled in between their terraced gardens and the amazing steep cliff faces and hillsides - good for goats.  The area was all covered in about 1.5m of pumice when Vesuvius erupted, and consequently holds the water quite well.  We could see across to Salerno (around the ever- present power pylons) , but much better views than on previous days due to clearer weather.

a long way down!!

puzzle for the day... how did this car get here and why is it here (perched above a cliff)?

After our lunch stop we dropped off a few of the group to walk back down towards the village, before the rest of us headed onwards to a waterfall at the head of the large gully.  We were on the other side of the gully that we walked up yesterday, and it was interesting to view it again from a very different perspective.

there is a water chute inside this "chimney" and ladder on the outside to check it is all OK

and bridge and pipe crossing the gully

pensive moment

Then the slow walk downward along the winding track towards the village of Palermo. We looked at Palermo nestled on the hill yesterday and wondered why on earth anyone was crazy enough to build perched up on the hill like that.  Today we walked past the same houses and marvelled again.

A quick stop for a cuppa at a local cafe, and then a few more km to catch the bus home again.

If only the walking was always this dry and this temperature things would be great.
The decision has been made that we will not be visiting Capri - due to the exceptionally high seas and dangerous crossing - instead we will probably walk to Ravello - which sounds like it is very interesting anyway.